US - Egypt

CAIRO (AP) — U.S. officials say protesters climbed the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Egypt's capital Tuesday and took down the American flag, replacing it with a black Islamist flag to protest a film produced in the U.S. that attacks the Prophet Muhammad.

Hours later, armed men in eastern Libya stormed the U.S. consulate there and set it on fire as anger spread. A State Department officer was shot and killed.

The protests were sparked by outrage over a video promoted by an anti-Muslim Egyptian Christian in the United States. A 14-minute trailer of the movie posted on YouTube depicts Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a madman.

The crowd in Cairo chanted, "Islamic, Islamic. The right of our prophet will not die." Some shouted, "We are all Osama," referring to al-Qaida leader bin Laden. A group of women in black veils and robes chanted, "Worshippers of the Cross, leave the Prophet Muhammad alone."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned the deadly attack Libya, saying some are trying to justify it as a response to the inflammatory video. She says while the U.S. deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, it never justifies violence.